The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-06-03

enough to make almost any one shud-
der. There was plenty of wood to
burn, but the sma est light would
attract the brigands to the spot. and
then my trip would come to sudden
ending. The pine trees were small.
and the branches reached almost
to the ground, so it was an easy
matter to gather sufficient quantity
of the brush to construct a place
in which to sleep. Some of the smaller
branches, with the aid of punches of
loose mountain grass, served very well
as mattress and pillow. All being
arranged for the night, took one last
look at the dark, gloomy scene and
then crawled inside of my hastily
built house. 1t seemed quite warm at
first, but shortly after the wind began
to blow through the sides, making it
very uncomfortable. To add to my
misery, the visions of those fearful
crosses on the roadside were constantly
before my eyes, and sleep was out of
the question. Whenever a twig or a
branch cracked, fancied it was a foot
step and expected the next moment to
have n brigand standing over me, ready
to plunge his knife. Occasionally the
howl of a coyote sounded close at hand
and on several occasions 1 even fancied
l heard the cry of a mountain lion.
The hours seemed to be stretched into
| days, and yet from the position of the
stars l could see it was not yet mid
night. The cold winds penetrated
through every crack and crevice of my
poOrly-constructed hut and made it al
most unbearable. On several occasions
it seemed impossible to remain longer
without freezing. A fire, however, was
out of the question, for it meant pro-
bable visit from the brigands and one
| more cross for the rOadsid All things
come to an end, and the long night
| finally passed away. My one thought
was to get away from the fearful place,
and without taking even a look at the
| glorious peak started on Il run down
| the mountain. SoonI came to a stream
on the side of which 1 had walked the
previous day. The water, however,
was frozen solid, showing that the night
must have been intensely cold. After
reaching a lower altitude 1 began to
feel warm and in good spirits again,
and then for the first time felt heartily
ashamed of having abandoned the trip.
About noon / reached Amecameca, and
after good dinner and a few glasses
of pulque / vowed 1 would reach the
summit of Popocatepetl, and that with
out guides or mules, if it took whole
year to do it.
The resolution having been duly
/ - e
clothing, blankets and provisions and
then made arrangements to start early
the next morning. During the even
ing the agent and his French inter
prefer called to learn the result of my
trip and to triumph over my failure.
They declared that the Americans were
great people for railroads, but they
were far inferior to the Mexicans when
it came TO climbing Popocatepetl. The
next day, shortly after sunrise, was
| up and ready to start. The path was,
of course, the same over which l had
gone the previous day, but somehow
managed to wander off on a branch
road and only discovered my mistake
when the path came to a sudden end.
| A Mexican would consider n few Oaths
| very appropriate on such an occasion,
| but being a good American l merely
turned around and retraced my steps.
| The mistake was certainly a serious
one, as it took nearly two hours of fast
walking to reach the right path. After
| trud ging and climbing over twelve
miles of road and seeing no signs of
| the ranch, / determined to leave the
| in arrf tho of fhn
mountain, and make the ascent from
the west side, instead of taking the long
and tedious path usually followed.
| About five o'clock l came to the line
| where vegetation ended, and decided
to pass the night at that place. For
hours l had been walking through for
ests of pines, but had ut last reached
| the limit beyond which neither plant
nor tree dared to go. The mighty
| peak, covered with the dazzling coat
| of snow from the summit to point
| three or four thousand feet below, lay
close at hand, while the distant fields,
valleys and hills stretched in all direc-
tions. The edge Of the forest seemed
to be partially sheltered from the winds,
and would thus make the best camping
place to be found. Having plenty of
| time was not hurried as on the pre-
vious day, and was able to construct a
/ substantial hut in which to pass the
night. The pine trees were dry, so
that it was an easy matter to break off
great branches. Thus by dark the
work was finished, and after putting
on all my extra clothing and having q
! hearty lunch, 1 crawled inside and pre-
pared to pass the night. 1t was lit
tie cold-the thermometer being con-
siderably below the freezing point
and yet managed to sleep well and
wake up bright and early the next
morning. prepared to finish the under
taking.
left the camp and struck across a
sloping ridge composed entirely of fine
volcanic dust and ashes. Walking was
extremely difficult, as the loose ashes
had a disagrecable way of flying in all
directions, and although the distance
was less than thousand feet, nearly
two hours were consumed in crossing
the strip A steep, rocky ravine then
followed, and led to the foot of the
glacier. A large stream of water,
coming from the end of the field of ice,
dashed over precipices in its mad
course. and was finally lost in the dis
lance. The ascent to the snow line
was rapid but very laborioHs. and re-
suited in numerous bruises and
scratches.
BY alternate freezing and thawing
the snow on the cone has been turned